Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in postwar Kosovar adolescents using mind-body skills groups: a randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether participation in a mind-body skills group program based on psychological self-care, mind-body techniques, and self-expression decreases symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


METHODS
Eighty-two adolescents meeting criteria for PTSD according to the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (which corresponds with 16 of the 17 diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-IV) were randomly assigned to a 12-session mind-body group program or a wait-list control group. The program was conducted by high school teachers in consultation with psychiatrists and psychologists and included meditation, guided imagery, and breathing techniques; self-expression through words, drawings, and movement; autogenic training and biofeedback; and genograms. Changes in PTSD symptoms were measured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. The study was conducted from September 2004 to May 2005 by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine at a high school in the Suhareka region of Kosovo.


RESULTS
Students in the immediate intervention group had significantly lower PTSD symptom scores following the intervention than those in the wait-list control group (F = 29.8, df = 1,76; p < .001). Preintervention and postintervention scores (mean [SD]) for the intervention group were 2.5 (0.3) and 2.0 (0.3), respectively, and for the control group, 2.5 (0.3) and 2.4 (0.4), respectively. The decreased PTSD symptom scores were maintained in the initial intervention group at 3-month follow-up. After the wait-list control group received the intervention, there was a significant decrease (p < .001) in PTSD symptom scores compared to the preintervention scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Mind-body skills groups can reduce PTSD symptoms in war-traumatized high school students and can be effectively led by trained and supervised schoolteachers.
Gordon
James S
JS
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, 5225 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 414, Washington, DC 20015, USA. jgordon@cmbm.org
Staples
Julie K
JK
Blyta
Afrim
A
Bytyqi
Murat
M
Wilson
Amy T
AT
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001155:Art Therapy; D001326:Autogenic Training; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy; D008297:Male; D019122:Meditation; D019222:Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014857:Warfare; D015022:Yugoslavia